Homeownership

Habitat East Bay/Silicon Valley understands that there are many types of families, and all are welcome to apply to our program. You determine who your family is. Just a few examples of family are: an individual applying alone, a married couple with children, a single parent, a non-married couple, or a family that includes aunts, uncles, or parents. Unless there are circumstances outside of your control, you must have lived with all the household members shown on your pre-application and full application for at least 6 months.

First, if after reading the Program Guidelines you’re not sure whether you qualify, please apply! Our staff will review your information to help you figure out if you qualify.

We build houses along with partner households who meet Habitat’s homeownership program guidelines. Some of the basic guidelines are: You must be a first-time homebuyer. Your income must be 120% or below the median household income for the county in which the home is located. You must have a need for housing, you must show the ability to pay an affordable mortgage loan for 30 years, and you must demonstrate a willingness to partner with Habitat. Please refer to the Program Guidelines for more information on qualifications for the program, or attend one of our homeowner education/orientation sessions.

No, Habitat East Bay/Silicon Valley homes must be owner-occupied and cannot be rented out.

No, but we do require proof of income. We will accept benefit statements and award letters for SSA and disability, as well as proof of payment for a pension plan. If you are employed through a company, we require at least 6 months of history with your current employer and 3 of your most recent paystubs. If you are self-employed, we require at least 3 years of tax returns (all pages) to verify your net profit.

You can register for one of our upcoming homeowner education/orientation sessions online. As we schedule orientations, we will update the website. You must attend a homeowner education/orientation session to qualify to purchase one of our homes.

Habitat East Bay/Silicon Valley does not give away homes. We provide a hand up, not a handout. You will be purchasing your home, and we work with you to make sure you have an affordable housing cost after purchasing the home. Each applicant must agree to partner with us in the program, which includes providing all documentation needed as well as attending homebuyer education classes and completing sweat equity requirements.

More information can be found in our Program Guidelines or by attending one of our homeowner education/orientation sessions.

We request a money order so we can pull a credit report for the applicant and co-applicant. Your credit report gives us a good indication of whether you have the ability to afford a mortgage payment on top of your existing financial responsibilities. We are looking for a history of consistent, on-time payments of your existing bills.  We are also looking to make sure there are no major issues, such as a history of late payments, open collections, or open bankruptcies.

Habitat for Humanity is a 2-step application process. You will begin with a pre-application where we’re verifying basic information for the applicant and co-applicant and verifying income for your entire household.

At the time of completing the pre-application online, you will need to upload  at  minimum:

All household members to provide the most recent 3 pay stubs for all sources of income (employment, pension, child support, alimony, EDD, SSI, disability, etc.) or most recent 2 year Federal tax returns if you are self-employed.
Proof of U.S residency for applicant and co-applicant
Driver’s license or DMV I.D.
Evidence of applicant and co-applicant’s social security number.
Pay a fee for Habitat to order a credit report for the applicant and co-applicant.
**On a case by case basis, Habitat could require documents not listed above.
 
If you meet the program requirements, Habitat will invite you to complete a full application.

The full application will require a review of additional documentation that’s listed below. 

The red clock symbol means that you have not yet either completed a section or uploaded a document.

The red clock will go away once you have completed all sections, answered all questions, and uploaded all required documentation. You will receive a back checkmark when the section has met all requirements and is completed.

Common reasons why you still have a red clock symbol and not a checkmark:

• You did not input an email or cell phone number for the co-applicant. If you did not receive a text, you can click “resend SMS”
• You did not input a state.
• You did not add a mailing address
• Sometimes the system adds additional questions
• You did not input a response to the military question
• You did not input a response to the employment question